Boy or Girl?!?!

As we dreamt of conceiving and even once it became a reality, Todd and I would talk about whether or not we wanted to know the gender.  I wanted the surprise of finding out when the baby is born -- I don't know there is any greater surprise in life.  However, Todd, who is more of a planner than myself wanted to go the practical route and find out the sex of the baby as soon as possible.  As time went on, I seemed to warm up more to the idea of finding out.....being able to decorate the nursery before the baby arrives in a gender specific way would be nice, being able to buy all these cute clothes for baby boy or baby girl would be so fun, I'm not a big fan of ducks and frogs, and in a strange way I kind of feel like it will be easier to bond with this baby that has taken over my body if I could visualize them a bit more.  I came around to Todd's way of thinking and as much as I will miss the surprise in the hospital, I'm sure finding out at the doctor will still be a great surprise, as it has been greatly anticipated!

So, Todd may think he has won....but he will find out he really lost once the shopping commences :)

Our baby has had many, many more ultrasounds than most and at each one (no matter how early on) he or she was kicking, punching, swimming, etc.  Wide awake and very active!  We went to our last appointment in hopes the doctor would be able to definitively tell us the gender this time and could get a good Christmas card picture.  Little Hood was deeply asleep (like Mom, a professional sleeper!) on it's head!  It looked beyond uncomfortable and seemed he/she knew they were foiling our grand plans!  Regardless of poking and prodding by the doctor, he or she refused to move and kept legs clamped shut!  So much for finding out the sex and so much for a Christmas card picture!  At that point, I realized I am now more impatient to find out the gender than Todd....after all, I wanted to take advantage of some Cyber Monday baby shopping!

Little Hood being oh-so-stubborn ;)
16 Weeks

Our next appointment is in less than a week and we will try again!  In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to do some truly unreliable "home" tests!  :)

Carrying High/Carrying Low:  Traditionally, the tale goes that carrying low is a boy and carrying high is a girl.  Two weeks ago I would have said definitely girl based on that, but the baby has snuggled in low lately, so now I have to say boy.

Urine in Drano:  Apparently, if you pour some urine in Drano, it may or may not change a wide array of colors which could either mean girl or boy.  In addition to changing colors, this is incredibly toxic and is a highly combustable combination.  I think we will stay away from this test!

Heartbeat:  If the heartbeat is above 140, it is supposed to be a girl.  Below 140 is a boy.  Our baby has had a heartbeat consistently just above 140 since about 7 weeks when it was first able to be measured.  When I say just above, I mean within one to 7 beats!  So, that would barely be a point for girl!

Cravings:  Girls supposedly make Mom crave sweet, and boys make them crave something more tart.  I love a good sweet something, but I also love lemonade and crave granny smith apples!  Experts claim pregnant women don't have cravings at all -- I'm assuming they are men who have never taken care of a pregnant wife!  Either way, the jury is still out!

Weight Gain:  Thankfully this one is about Todd!  If he puts on weight during my pregnancy, it is a girl.  If he doesn't gain a pound, it is a boy.  Not sure we can judge this at the halfway point, but so far he hasn't gained anything which would mean boy... Is anyone else confused yet?

Chinese Lunar Calendar:  The Chinese lunar calendar is supposed to be able to predict if you are having a girl or boy depending on your birthday and the conception date of the baby.  While the calendar I used seemed to be quite confused by my age at conception and the month I conceived, it came out boy.  When I found where I should be in the chart based on the true month and age, it came up boy, again!

Baking Soda:  If you urinate in baking soda, it will fizz if a boy and do nothing if a girl.  Well, I did the deed and the results are in!  I thought for sure any kind of urine in baking soda would fizz but I was wrong, it did absolutely nothing!  The baking soda thinks we are having a girl!

Pendant:  If you hold a pendant over your belly and if it goes back and forth, rumor says it's a boy.  Circular motions mean girl.  This test says we are having a boy...no, a girl....a boy again, and now a girl again?!?!  This test has to be by far the most unreliable.  No matter how still I got it before letting go, it would start one way, then change, and change again, and sometimes it would even go in circular back-and-forth motions (like very skinny ovals).  I don't think we can make a judgement call here!

Well, if nothing else, I think we have debunked all of these myths and old wives tales as unreliable!  How about that MythBusters?  Maybe they can pay me royalties for this future show idea!!  Thank goodness we don't have to depend on these tests to guess gender!  No worries, I will post the gender update as soon as we have it!

What do you think we are having?  Please weigh in below with a comment!